OFFICE OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

Denise Juneau Superintendent

STATE OF MONTANA

U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

www.opi.mt.gov ( 406) 444-5643

Indian Education Series: Indian Students in Public Schools - Cultivating the Next Generation

April 9, 2014

Testimony of:

Mandy Smoker Broaddus

Director of Indian Education

Montana Office of Public Instruction

On behalf of State Superintendent Denise Juneau

Submitted to:

The Hon. Jon Tester, U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting the Montana Office of Public Instruction to participate in this

hearing. My name is Mandy Smoker Broaddus and I am a member of the Fort Peck Sioux and

Assiniboine tribes from north-eastern Montana. It is my privilege to work for Superintendent Denise

Juneau and for an agency in a state that "recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage of

American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to the preservation of our cultural integrity"

(Montana constitution, Article X). It is an honor to speak before you all today. I am humbled by the

spirit of my mother and all those who have gone before me- because a great deal of collective

suffering, yet also undeniable resiliency among my family, and throughout Indian country, has allowed

me to be here today. I have traveled from Montana with the next generation of my family in my heart

- nieces and nephews, cousins and my own son who attend public schools back home. I would travel

any distance if it might mean strengthening schools and communities so that they might have a better

life. For so many of us across Indian country this work is deeply personal because we realize that it is

our job to remove all the barriers our children face, both inside and outside of the school building. No

stone should go unturned in our efforts to improve the educational systems so that our kids are

prepared for whatever they choose next in life. This is the moral obligation of anyone who chooses to

work in education. For American Indian students, it is even more necessary because times are urgent

for our young people - in the face of suicide clusters, increasing domestic violence, and growing

instances of self-harm and drug addiction, students show up at school every day, and deserve the best

we can provide them.

PO Box 202501, Helena, MT 59620-2501

The first thing I want to say to you today is that the work of improving educational outcomes for

American Indian students cannot be the work of schools alone. The achievement gap in Montana and

across this country is very real, and the solutions are multi-dimensional and complex. We need better

approaches to realize stronger, healthier, more stable, and better educated families and communities.

This means that HUD housing, USDA, Head Start, and DOJ must be at the table with Indian Health

Service, tribal governments, and tribal colleges. Funding and policy must be reconsidered within a

framework of support with the end goal of creating an environment where young people are valued

and safe.

I will now talk about our efforts to create and coordinate innovative approaches in Montana. After

many years' advocacy, the state provides funding - almost $500,000 each year - to the Office of Public

Instruction to improve educational outcomes for American Indian students in our public school

systems. We have funded dropout prevention efforts, early childhood efforts, and elementary

mathematics programs. We seek opportunities to support and educate the whole ch ild because a

collective effort is what is required. Over time we have honed and refined a holistic approach to this

work and we use public as well as private funding to establish as many leverage points as possible.

In addition to state funding, the Office of Public Instruction has used federal School Improvement

Grant dollars to create a unique collaborative effort with our state's most struggling public schools, all

of which exist in Indian country. The Department of Education allowed us some flexibility in our SIG

grant, and we created Montana Schools of Promise. As a result, the Office of Public Instruction has

provided direct services such as job-embedded professional development on effective instructional

strategies, support for students who live with trauma, and assistance with data informed decision

making. In addition, our agency stretched its capacity and provided five onsite coaches to assist school

leaders, teachers, school boards, students and community members. These OPI staff members either

moved to these communities or were from there. They go to work in our schools every day and are

able to push on these turbulent systems in ways that district staff are limited. Key results have been an

increase in literacy rates, increased student engagement and an improvement in overall school climate

and infrastructure. We have also been able to dramatically increase the efficacy of local boards of

trustees and are supporting new school administrators who focus on the difficult work of improving

their schools.

Lastly, and perhaps most significantly, we have developed an innovative approach to better support

the emotional and mental well-being of students through high fidelity Wraparound. We received a

two year Montana Mental Health Trust grant for $600,000 and a $1.8 million SAMSHA Systems of Care

Grant, and are partnering with the tribal governments from our Schools of Promise sites - Fort Peck,

Crow and Northern Cheyenne - and with Indian Health Services, the Bureau of Indian Affa irs, and the

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state Department of Public Health and Human Services" With this support, we are implementing

community-driven, culturally responsive school-based mental health "wrap round" supports for

students and their families through trained staff who are tribal members. These staff access both

county and state support services and natural and cultural supports to build on the positive supports

and assets of youth who all too often face traumatic experiences and live with PTSD symptoms.

In closing, here are a few additional considerations - Title Ill administrators at the DOE must consider

the uniqueness of historically impacted native languages and their differences from other world

languages. Impact Aid funding, a vital and necessary funding stream for public reservation schools,

should be restored to full levels again. And all federal and state entities who impact the lives of

children must expand their efforts beyond the traditional scope of services and more fully realize

important connections with local school entities. I applaud President Obama's creation of the White

House Council on Native American Affairs and hope that work results in better coordination and

innovation in Indian country. A great need exists for comprehensive planning and funding to support

this multi-faceted approach because we will not improve educational outcomes without addressing life

outcomes overwhelmed by high unemployment rates and a lack of access to quality health care for

American Indian families. Lastly, policy and regulations need to take in to consideration the unique

relationship American Indian tribes have with the federal government as sovereign nations, and as

such their children in public schools are impacted by policies and regulations that fail to be culturally

responsive and culturally sensitive.

Again, thank you for allowing me this important opportunity to speak with you today.

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